Aerial tramway.



PATENTED JULY 17, 1906.

W. C. LAWSON. AERIAL TRAMWAY.

APPLlGATIoN FILED JAN. 23.1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

PATENTED JULY 17, 1906.

W. o. LAWSON. AERIAL TRAMWAY.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23,1906- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2A PATENTED JULY 17, 1906.

W. G. LAWSON. AERIAL TRAMWAY. APPLIOATION FILED JAN.23.1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM C. LAWSON, F RURAL RETREAT, VIRGINIA.

' AERIAL TnAMwAY.

Specification of Letters Patent. Y Application and Jimmy 23,1906. sesam. '297,518.

Patented July 17, 1 906.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. LAwsoN, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Rural Retreat', in the county of Wythe and State of Virginia, have invented a new and useful Aerial Tramway, of which the following is a l specification.

This invention relates to aerial'tramways, and more particularly those employingca# bles on which the carrying devices run and by which they are supported. The ordinary tramway of this character now in general use emplo s a sin le supporting-cable which has a num er of o jections, amo which may be mentioned the cost of a sing e arge cable the -power necessary to-move the carriers a on the same and up the inclined portion cause by thev necessary sag of such cable, the liability of the cars to sway, and the excessive wear due to such swayin movements. It

.has'been proposed to emp oy two-rail cable structures; but sofar as I am' aware these 'have' been proven impracticable, as'it 4hasbeen very diflicult to o onboth rails or cables, and without suchtenbe employe tain an equal tension sion unequaly strains, the shifting of the lo ads, and the displacement of the carriers are almost necessary consequences.

The principal object of the resent invention is to provide a novel anifsimple structure whereb`r a (plurality of cable-rails may an equal tension on both can be readily secured and maintained, thereby obviating the objections .above set forth.

Another ob 'ect is to provide effective means for securing t e parts in place, so that there y is little liability of derangement.

A still further object 1s to provide a sectional structure whlch is much less expensive than the ordinary type, is capable of sustaining great loads, can be provided with curves as re uired under different conditions of use, can e made stronger at necessar points'without thev necessity of correspon ingly increasing the stre hl of thel entirel Iiglily and cheaplyv structure, and can be re constructed and installed.

` The referred' embodiment of the inven` tionisi lustrated -in the accompanying draw# ings, wherein-f- 4 `igure 1 is a perpective view of a portion of the-structure. ig'. 2 is a vertical longitu- .zontal sectional view on t "and downwardly through holding-bloc dinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale', through the same. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the supports and the associated arts. Fi 4 is a cross-sectional view on the ine 4 4 of ig. 3. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a detail erspective view of one f the cable-holding evices. Fig. 7'is a vertical longitudinal sectional view therethrough. Fig. Sis ahori- Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view on the e line 8 8 of FigI 7.

9 9 ofy Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is atop plan view showother support are also mounted otherguidesheaves 16,-.which sheaves are disposed between the cross-beams longitudinal y thereof' and journaled thereto. In the present embodiment a double track is illustrated, and

each track is composed of independent sections, a section extending from one support to the next. As these sections are simi ar inv all res ects, a description of one is believed to be cient for all. Each track-section is composed of a single looped cable,'the looped end portion 17 of such cable (passing over a set of the guide-sheaves 15 an about the intermediate sheave 16. Its ends 18 pass over the corresponding sheaves 15 of the` next sulpport being secured byy clips 20, fastened to said v ends below the bloc ps ,fas shown in Fig. 5. As a result the side portions 21 of said single looped cable form spaced carriage-su porting'rails, and by the term carriage it is intended to embrace any carrying or transpoiriting device capable of .operating on the ra s.

lIt will be observed by reference to Figs. 6

and 7 that the guide-sheaves 15,mounted in eachset of plates 14- aresli htlys eced a art and consequently t 4e eorxgeeponing en of the track-sections will also be spaced slightly apart. These spaces are bridged, however, by clamping-plates 22, constituting, in effect,

ytrack-sections, which plates have their upl'furthermore engage in seats or sockets 26,

formed in the opposite side edges of the clamping-plates 22, and thus serve to hold said clamping-plates in position.

The traction-cable is shown at 27, and it is located between and slightly below the plane of the clable-rails 21. This traction-cable passes over the supports between the guidesheaves and angle-plates 14 and is supported in any suitable manner-as, for instance, by guide-rollers 28-journaled in brackets 29, which backets are fastened to the sides of the `supports. In the present embodiment suitable carriages or carrying devices 30 are shown in Fig. 1, said devices having clutches 31, that engage the traction-cable, and having rollers 32, that run upon the track-rails 21. As the rollers 32 are located on the outer sides and preferably contiguous to the tops of the 'carrying devices or carriages, it will be seen thst said devices are located between the rai s.

It will be apparent that this structure can be readily manufactured and cheaply installed. Inasmuch as each section is separate from the other, the carrying capacity of the tramway is equal not to the capacity of a single span, but depends upon the number of sections employed. Furthermore, if some of the sections have to be made longer than others in crossing gorges or the like the cables for that particular section may be made heavier without affecting and` altering the other sections, and thus Without increasing the cost, except for the particular section in question. Another great advantage is that in this invention the two cable-rails 21 of each section can be placed under equal tension, for, as already shown, each section is a single cable disposed in the form of a loop.,

Therefore by loosening the various clips securing the looped section and placin tightening strain upon the endsor end Iny any suitable mechanism the tension of necessity must be e ual upon both of the rails formed by said ca le, and when the clips are retightened this tension will be maintained. Moreover, should any one cable become broken or vinjured that cable can be removed and replaced by a new one Without the necessity of an entirely new structure, and by making the tramway in short sections comparatively llight and therefore much more inexpensive cables may be employed.

In case it is desired to provide a curve in the tramway the structure disclosed in Figs. 10 and 11 is employed. The track-sections composed of the looped cables are the same as already described and have therefore been given the same reference-numerals. These sections are, however, spaced apart and disposed in angular relation, as shown in Fig. 10, and interposed between them are curved trackplates 33, the outer ends of which arelocated between the angle-plates .14 of the cable-mountings and are secured thereto not only by the clips 24, but also preferably by additional bolts 25. In case the curve is a long one the plates 33 may be in sections, as shown, their ends being coupled together, as shown at 34, and mounted on an intermediate support 35, the arrangement of course depending upon the character of the turn to be made. The traction-cable 27 is passed over suitable guide-sheaves 36, which are set at the proper angle to prevent the cafl ble from'riding off the same. It will be ob-y served that this structure corresponds in all essential details to,the arrangement already v described, the curve plates 33 constituting', in effect, the clamping-plates between the cable sections, erformmg an additional functionI in that by means of them curves in the tramway may be readily eifected.

From the foregoing it /is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention -will be apparent to those skilled in the art Wthout further description, and it will be understood that various changes inthe Size, shape, proportion, and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the 'adyantageS ,of the invention.

- Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In an aerial tramway, a track including. a pluralityof carriageesupporting rails formed from a single cable, and means for maintaining the rails in taut conditull andi,

against longitudinal movement.

' 2. In an aerial tramway, a track vinclud- IIC ing .a plurality of carriagesupporting rails formed from a looped cable, the sides of Said loop constitutin clampingV the rai s ment. l f y 3. .In an aerial tramway, the combination with a support, of guides mounted on the support, and a looped cable having one end portion passing about the guides, the sides of said loop being spaced apart and constituting carriage-supporting rails.

4. n anfaerial tramway, the combination against longitudinalmovesaid rails, and 'means for y mounted on the su port, another guidesheave mounted on t e support betweenthe A clamp-plate.

spaced sheaves and transversely thereof, and a looped'cable having its loo ed end portion assing about the sheaves, t esides of said ooped cable being spaced apart andconstituting carriage-supporting rails.

5. n an aerial tramway, the combination with spaced standards,of spaced cross-beams connecting the same, spaced sheaves mounted transversely of the cross-beams, another sheave mounted between the beams longitudinally thereof and between the spaced sheaves, and a looped cable having its looped end portion passing about the spaced sheaves and the intermediate sheave, the sides of said loop being spaced apart and constituting carriage-supporting rails.

6. In an aerial tramway, the combination with spaced supports, of a looped cable having its side portions stretched between the supports and forming spaced carria e-supporting rails, the looped end of the ca le being movably guided on one of the supports,

and means-mounted on the other support -fory securing the ends of the cable,

7. In an aerial tramway, the combination with -spaced supports, oi a looped cable having its side portions stretched between the supports an forming spaced Acarriage-su porting rails, sheaves mounted on one of tlie supports for guiding the ldoped end portion of t e cable, and clamps mounted on the other support for securing the ends of the cable.

8. In an aerial tramway, the combination with a support, oi.' a uide mounted thereon, a rail-cab e passing a out the ide, a clamp engaginglthe cable,` and a-hol ing device enga ing t e cable and also engaging the clamp to old the same in position. i

9. In an aerial tramway, the combination with a support, oi a guide-roller mounted thereon, a rail-cable passing about the roller,v

a clamp engaging t e'portion of the cable that passes about the roller, and a holding- -clip embracing the cable and also engaging the clamp to hold the same in position.

10. In an aerial tramwa the combination with su porting-standar s, of cross-beams mounte the beams,'a roller journaled between the plates, a rail-cable passing over the roller, .a

,clamp-plate interposen between the spaced plates and-engaging the v*portion of the cable that passes over theroller, said clamp-plate havin a recess, and a holdin -clip embracing the ca le and engaging in t e recess Vof the -11. n anl aerial tramway, a `track com- -posed of a series of sectlons, each section comprising a plurality of spaced carriage-4 supporting rails formed from a single cable.

12. In anL aerial tramway, a track composed of a series of sections, sach section thereon, spaced plates located onr spaced carriage-supporting rails.

13. In an aerial tramway, the combination with a plurality of spaced supports, of guides mounted on the supports, and a track composed of a series of sections, each section eX- tending between a set of sup orts and comprising a looped cable exten g about the guides on one of the supports and having its ends affixed to the other support.

14. In an aerial tramway, the combination with a plurality of spaced supports, of spaced guide-sheaves mounted onl each supplort, a plurality of looped cables, each cable aving its ends secured to one support and having its looped end ortion passing sheaves of the ot er support an extending across the space between said sheaves.

15. In an aerial tramway, the combination with a lurality of spaced supports, of spaced guide-s eaves mounted on each supplort, a plurality of looped cables,'each cable aving its ends secure its looped end ortion passing over the sheaves of the other support an extendin across the space between said sheaves, an track-section plates bridging the spaces between the ends ofthe adjacent cables. i

16. In an aerial tramway, the combination with a plurality of cable-track sectionsfdis posed in angular relation and havin their ends spaced apart, of a curved track- Iate inter osed between and having its ends alined wit the adjacent ends ofthe sections.

17. In an aerial tramway, the combination with a plurality of cable-track sections disposed in angular relation and havin theiry ends spaced apart, of a curved trackate inter osed between and having its en s alined wit the adjacent ends of the sections, said track-lilate constituting clamps therebetween t at engage the sections 18. In an aerial tramway, the combination with supporting means, of guides mounted over the to one support and having lroo les

thereon, angularly-disposed track-cables passin over the guides, and a laterallycurve: track-plate mounted on the supporty ing means between .the guides and bearing vagainst the portions .of the cables passing thereover.

19. In an aerial tramway, the combination l with spaced supports, 'lates mounted on eac su journaled between the p ates lof each support, a track-cable passing over each sheave, and a curved track-section plate bridging th'e space between the sup orts, the ends of said plate being engagedV etwe'en the spaced sets of of spaced plates on the support and being disposed in` coacting relation to the ends of the track-- cable. y

Inan aerial tramway, the combination-t with spaced supports, of a track-section com necte pport, a 'guide-s eave l' IRO .ups

to each'support and comprising Agie cable having spaced stretches, said i In testimony thetI claim the foregoing as stretches forming substantially parallel carmy own I have hereto axed my signature liege-supporting rails, and curved trackin the presence of two Witnesses. Y plates br1dging the space between the sup- WILLIAM C. LAWSON.

; ports and between the corresponding eable- Witnesses:

rails of each track-section, seid track-plates JOHN H. SIGGERsJ having their ends alined with the cable-rails. 1 MARY A. CRooK. 

